SC strucks down Dy Speaker’s ruling, Hamza loses CM’s slot
Hamza Shehbaz appointed Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election and Hamza Shehbaz lost the status of CM Punjab, as Chaudhry Pervez Elahi was declared elected CM.
The apex Court declared his “understanding and implementation” of Article 63A(1)(b) of the Constitution “incorrect and erroneous” as it announced the much anticipated verdict on PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s petition.
The verdict is termed a big blow to the coalition government as PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz lost his status of the chief minister, while his PTI backed rival Parvez Elahi will now take over the position as per the top court’s order.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar announced the decision.
During the CM election, Mazari, the deputy speaker, had decided against counting the votes of 10 PML-Q Punjab Assembly members, which were cast in Elahi’s favour, citing a letter written by party President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in which he had instructed them to vote for Hamza instead. The top court ordered Governor Punjab
